Ma Ma Review - AVClub

AVClub: Around the turn of the millennium, Julio Medem seemed on track to become the most accomplished and internationally popular Spanish filmmaker since Pedro Almodóvar. His fourth and fifth films—1998’s Lovers Of The Arctic Circle and 2001’s Sex And Lucía—were visually splendid, passionate, and personal, with a perspective on romance that was as complex as it was life-affirming. But Medem’s movies since then haven’t gotten nearly as much acclaim or attention, and now with Ma Ma he appears to be struggling to get his mojo back. While every bit as snazzy as his best-known work, Ma Ma’s corny simplicity makes its many flourishes look excessive, and even desperate.